The phrase "life is too short" took on new meaning for each of us on the day shortly before our 25th Reunion when we learned that Jeff Cogan had passed away late last December. Jeff was a warm, wonderful and rather colorful human being. We were proud and privileged to have known him and called him a friend for as long as we did. We were even more sad to have missed him for so much longer and to know now that we will never see him again.

From the first day he set foot on campus, Jeff – who we more often called “Cogan” – stood out from his classmates. It was not just the accent of a young man who came to James Hall from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Cogan stood out even more because of his infectious good spirits, warm smile and disarming personality. Cogan would flash his contagious grin while wearing one of his many Lacoste shirts: he ran cross country in Lacostes, he slept in them, and when the autumn chill hit Amherst, this Southern boy just took to wearing multiple layers of them. Cogan also had eclectic musical tastes, introducing the rest of the first floor of James to the tunes of the Ramones, Devo, and George Thorogood, with a little Four Tops thrown in for balance.

Cogan’s cars were the stuff of legend. His grey Volvo station wagon with the “Nuke the Baby Whales” bumper sticker was met with looks of horror from the politically correct set and his drives to and from DKE during sophomore year via the “Bat Cave” entrance (a gap between the trees at the bottom of the hill just large enough to accommodate his car) did not help the landscaping but were thoroughly enjoyed by all passengers “low riding” with him.

The “Shark” car of his junior year – a large brown Buick with a prominent shark decal on the back – spearheaded many rugby trips and was loaned out freely by Jeff to anyone who asked. While Cogan had a Shell gas credit card that in effect made gas free for him (his grandfather worked for Shell Oil), we were always bemused by the fact that Cogan was frequently running out of gas. One night, with Pat Fitzgerald behind the wheel as they headed to Smith and a Shell station approaching on the right of Route 9, Cogan assayed the gas tank indicator, which was clearly pointing to “empty.” Cogan decided that they should bypass the Shell station as they “probably” would have enough gas to make it to Smith and back. They did not. The power gave out – and with it the brakes and steering – just where the two lanes merged into one and a panicked Fitz pulled off the road out of traffic and made a glider landing with the car on to the grass at the side of Route 9. Cogan then spotted a Five College bus approaching the nearby stop and insisted that dealing with the car could await the return trip with the bus fast approaching. Being a Brooklynite, Fitz made sure to lock all the doors to secure the car, though in his haste he left the keys in the locked car – with the headlights on. After looking back at his mistake and telling Cogan, Jeff insisted that they not worry about the car. It could wait. It waited. By the time Jeff returned to get the car a day or two later, it had been towed. Jeff traded in the car (it had a few dents) as an offset for the tow charges. That was the end of the Shark. And that was Cogan’s easygoing character to a tee.

Cogan had an incredible sense of humor. His one successful foray into student government was his election onto the Library Committee. He ran on a two plank candidacy as his campaign statement in the Amherst Student dryly attested: “If elected I will burn all the books on Russian literature as the commie threat is the biggest threat we face today” (this was pre-Reagan days); and secondly “whoever designed the floor numbering of Frost Library: why does it go C, B, A, 1, 2 & 3?.  This is very confusing and may get students lost.” While neither of his campaign pledges was actually realized, Jeff was swept into office as a populist.

To those who knew Cogan from a distance, they saw this colorful guy who enjoyed having fun (sometimes straying into mischief), played rugby with much enthusiasm and chewed tobacco. They also knew he was intrigued by the study of geology – what would later be his career. But to those who knew Cogan better, Jeff had remarkable warmth and a selfless ability to listen to the troubles of others, large or small. To spend time with Cogan was to be completely at ease with someone in whom you could confide and not be judged. It was not uncommon to walk into a room to find Jeff in quiet conversation with people who were not his closest friends but who knew enough to know that Jeff was the right person to confide in. It is sadly ironic, but entirely fitting with the person that he was, that Cogan so willingly lightened the burdens of other people’s troubles but never wanted to share any of his troubles with others. He was the type of friend who would give anything or everything to his friends but would expect and accept nothing in return.

Jeff was too nice at times and found it difficult to decline requests for his company in the typical exuberances of youth. Jeff felt disappointed that he did not fully pursue the intellectual challenge that Amherst afforded. He decided to take our senior year off to come back with a renewed focus (Jeff would return to Amherst and graduate in 1985). Jeff’s absence from our room group in “B” Dorm was a big disappointment to us. We saw him several times that year while he was living and working in Boston and in the years that followed but, at some point, the contact ceased. We always thought this was a temporary thing. In fact, it was not unusual at Amherst for Jeff to disappear for a while only to show up when he was least expected. We kept on thinking that some year when the time was right Jeff would get back in touch and we would all have a fond reunion. This year, the year of our 25th reunion, just seemed like it should be the year. But Jeff left us before that reunion occurred. We found out the sad news belatedly when Dan Silver, Jeff’s freshman roommate, tried to track Jeff down through Jeff’s family in advance of our reunion. Jeff was not feeling well at Christmas and passed on a trip back East to see his sister and her family. Jeff passed away in his home in San Jose.

We will always regret not having been back in touch with him. We did have the bittersweet consolation of getting together with Jeff’s younger sister Jenny (who often visited him at Amherst and Boston) the weekend before our Reunion to get caught up on things. After earning a Masters degree in geology in South Carolina, Jeff had worked for an environmental resources company in the Washington area for five years and then worked for the same company in San Jose for more than a decade, where he was very close to many of his colleagues. Jeff had been a successful geologist and his projects included work on deep water wells (1000 feet under the ground) and projects in places like Africa. Those who knew Jeff well appreciated that he was extremely bright and enjoyed geology and were not surprised by his success in that field (though we were bemused to see that his choice of vehicles evolved from the “Shark” to a sleek BMW without decals). The CEO of the company Jeff worked for eulogized him “as without a doubt one of the keenest minds in the company.” We also learned that Jeff’s younger brother, Christopher, became a talented musician, no doubt molded in some good way by Jeff’s musical tastes. We recalled how Jeff often used to speak fondly of his father, Jerry Cogan (from the Class of 1956 and, like Jeff, a member of DKE), whom he greatly admired and whom we enjoyed meeting.

An old friend of Jeff’s from South Carolina, who had also moved to California, told us of an informal but emotional memorial service held for Jeff by his friends in California. One of his friends, who had left California and became involved in the business of creating memorial stones, sent back a memorial stone with Jeff’s name on it and the apt inscription “The Best of Friends,” a rather fitting memorial for a guy intellectually fascinated by the history of rocks. We were not at all surprised to hear that his friends in California had an equally fond view of this genuinely special person and were also deeply saddened by his loss.  Jeff started a new life after Amherst, but the good soul that he was remained a constant.

How do we now deal with this sense of loss, helplessness and deep regret of lost contact? I guess we turn to Jeff again. Jeff always wanted those around him to be happy. We suppose that we could best honor his memory by living each of our days to the fullest, which is what Jeff would ask. But we would do better to do as Jeff did, rather than to do what he would ask. So in his memory, we will each try better to reach out to our quiet friends, colleagues and acquaintances and strive to give of ourselves more like Jeff did. We will also strive harder to keep contact with those who have been separated from us by time or location or other factors.  In that sense, Jeff’s spirit seemed alive and well with class of 1982 at our Reunion. We miss you, Jeff. We were proud and lucky to be your friends. Rest in peace.

Pat Farrell
Pat Fitzgerald
Rob “Bake” Shepard